The Story So Far: Sir Auron, Maester Isaaru and his brothers take up the pilgrimage 13 years after Yuna dies defeating Sin. Attacking the new Sin at Kilika, Auron is lost when it disappears beneath the waves.

Auron slogged through darkness. He felt the lash of rain against his skin like tiny sullen barbs, warning him to keep his distance. Now and again lightning flickered, but never long enough to show him what kind of landscape this dream-world might be. He felt parched despite the rain, and his feet were numb with cold. At last, after he had forgotten what time and distance meant, he found a wall of leaping flame barring his path. He braced himself for searing heat and pushed through.

On the far side, darkness took on clarity and shape. It was the black and silver of moonlight, wisps of cloud and patches of night sky overhead where stars glittered. At his back was a whispering jungle, shimmering with crickets and the distant cries of fiends. Its lush, fiercely alive scents nearly smothered him. Before him lay a placid harbor, gentle flecks of crested waves rising and falling like a woman's breast in sleep.

He trudged through sand towards the breakers where kelp flexed over hidden shoals just offshore. When the sand gave out, he clambered over submerged rocks encrusted with shells. Mussels crackled underfoot. Water had never been his element, but it was Sin's, and it suited her now as much as fire's wrath, lightning's flash and icy disdain had suited her before.

There. A glimmer of white. He pulled up short, arrested by the same vision that had spawned a cult. Familiarity was no defense.

I really REALLY really wish I hadn't lost my art skills. I have an image in my head, but it won't come out. And arthritis means I can't do much at a time, which is one reason I got out of the habit. BUT I WANT TO DRAW THIS THING DAMMIT.

(I was initially trying to draw Yuna arriving in Besaid, getting her first glimpse of goth girl standing aloof from everyone else and watching her.)

i keep looking up twelve year old and seven year old girls on image search, trying to find art references, and being paranoid that someone's going to think I'm an awful person. :(

They're 13 and 8 in the picture above. Poor Yuna; it must've upset her more than anyone else in Spira when Sin came back.

Reposted from Tumblr, because Tumblr blows as a place to talk about anything or find anything you posted earlier.

Note that some of my comments derive from backstory provided by the Ultimania guide rather than from the game itself. Ultimania is a supplement put out by Square employees, rather than what really happened or what was said in-game. So I regard Ultimania as subject to fan interpretation and selection. Here's what I took from it.

leyna has just served up a five-star banquet of incredible FF fanart, paintings that include Balthier, Fang, Lulu — who should now be in a crossover adventuring party full of witty banter and icy put-downs — plus cameos by Lightning, Squall, Namingway (who?) and some Type-O character.

It illustrates a scene in the "Eight of Swords" chapter of Love Her and Despair, when Yu Yevon clamped down hard on Lulu for defying its will and taking too many liberties with Sin to aid her friends. As usual, the dream-interior of Sin is fashioned from its prisoner's hopes, loves, and fears.

Gameplay and story separation is a tricky thing to deal with in writing, haha. I've been fiddling around with the Venus Sigil and its significance for a later chapter in Guardian but I had to come up with a better reason for her finding it than "And then Lulu made Tidus go out in the rain and dodge 200 bolts of lightning." ;)

my reply:

HAHAHA now I'm imagining Lulu sending Tidus out into the rain because she's tired of his clueless questions or has caught him sneaking into Yuna's room.

Rikku starts giggling after the door shuts. "Well, that's one way to get him out of your hair. Think I could trick him into chasing butterflies all over Macalania?"

Have you ever stumbled across something in an old folder you really don't remember writing or drawing? This is clearly my clumsy drawing, and it's a scene I am sure I wrote at some point, but I'd completely forgotten I tried to illustrate it.

So. Doodle. Set about a year prior to FFX, Lulu and Luzzu.

Title: "Message"

(If you've not played the game in a while, it's the moment when Lulu learned what had happened to Chappu.)

I've always liked Luzzu, partly because of his rueful "she hit me, too" comment about Lulu (direct Japanese translation: "She has furious fists!"), and partly because he's trying so hard to keep the cadets from getting themselves redshirted.

The following ficbit is a backstory bridge picking up with the moment when Luzzu got on Lulu's bad side, segueing to the "Lulu's Contempt" FMV in which she rips Wakka a new one, and indirectly providing backstory for the "Kimahri Pounces* Tidus" FMV the next morning. Not all that exciting, but, character stuff, which used to be my forte.

-- note: this websites a bit draggy; it may take a couple tries to load.

Favorite excerpts:

McKenzie: "My agent called and said, 'Have you played some character named Auron? Disney wants you to do that character in some new game…' I said, 'Auron’s DEAD!' She said, 'You’re booked. Go make some money.'”

Mckenzie: "Take an occasional break from gaming for romance. It’s important! Have fun!"(Compare to Auron's quote: "Make mistakes. That's what youth is for, after all. Do not waste it.")

Tiso: "Leon [Kennedy of MGS Resident Evil] and Lulu would make a nice couple too- don’t you think? If there were ever a zombie attack I think my chances would be pretty good."

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Exhibit C: Interview with Alexander Smith, localization / translation for X, X-2, XIIAfter reading his discussion of why he translated "Arigatou" with 'I love you," I am a little more reconciled. Translation is SO HARD when you're trying to capture emotion/storytelling, not only literal meaning.

And I worship what he did with FFXII. The iambic pentameter for the Occuria rocked so hard. (Yes, I've gushed over the mannered translation for XII before.)

I've mucked around with Lulu's Inappropriate Applications of the Dark Arts as a trope ever since I started writing smut. Ice was always the weapon of choice. So when ff_yuri_drabble put up "ice" as a prompt, I had to kick it up a notch. Total PWP.

Well, well. This hardly qualifies as a drabble, but I found myself totally incapable of limiting these two fascinating characters to 100 words.

Title: MYST: Age of SpiraFandom: Final Fantasy X-2/MYST (Crossover)Characters: Lulu, CatherineRating: GWarning: Spoilers to both games to help orient readers who may only be familiar with one of 'em.Word Count: 2700Prompt written for:wired_lizard

A/N: The best part of this? It explains why that cave with the combination lock on the door showed up on Besaid in the sequel!